Sunday, May 01, 2011

Hiking Sawyer Mountain

Kate and I had a great hike this afternoon up Sawyer Mountain, a local peak that I have only explored one other time before. After today especially, I'm wondering why I haven't gone up there more often, considering since it's so close. Will be a great place to run given the steepness and technicality of the trails. I'll definitely go back soon for that purpose.

But today was about hiking, as we just wanted to explore and take advantage of the perfect weather. We really enjoyed it. And now, the pictures:

We had a picnic here near the summit. Behind us is a gorgeous view, but our big fat heads are blocking it so you have to look at us instead:

I also found some chaga. It's a fungus that grows primarily in birch trees. No, it doesn't make you see polka dot giraffes. It's just really healthy and good for you, and you boil it in water to make a tea out of it. It's alleged to have very strong anti-cancer properties:

This is on the summit of Sawyer Mountain (1213'). Apparently a whale oil lantern used to burn here back in the day to help guide ships into the Portland harbor. Thought that was interesting. While you could see the ocean from here, it was still far away:

We also enjoyed this incredible viewpoint, which was the best of the day. My phone camera is poopy, so you'll have to take my word on it that we could see the ocean, Portland and Sebago Lake from here. A very nice older couple told us about this viewpoint earlier down the trail a bit. Turns out they used to own the land but donated it to the land trust so all could enjoy it:

On the way back down, we ran into this cute little guy slowly making his way across the trail. It's an eastern ribbon snake. He tolerated my presence while I took his picture: